The Isle of Wight has always been a popular holiday destination, and with good reason. Within a relatively small area you have all the elements required to enjoy a day out, bracing coastal scenery, gently rolling downland and charming villages nestling in a rural landscape. There are also resorts for those who hanker for amusement arcades and kiss-me-quick hats!
You will encounter hills, some big, some small, and having a thriving agricultural economy it’s not unusual to turn a corner and find a tractor in your path or even a herd of cows! The road surfaces can vary in rural areas and in summer the traffic increases considerably, bear this in mind when whizzing along the lanes.
Cycling is currently enjoying a renaissance, and the proof is out there, on any sunny day you will see bikes of all varieties whizzing along, their riders sporting smiles and giving off a general air of happiness! Increasingly, joy is hard to find in a world full of serious preoccupations such as financial pressures, health worries or the state of the environment. Well, cycling has the cure! When you choose to travel by bike you have opted for a low cost, health enhancing occupation that has little or no impact on the natural world, and don’t forget one of the best benefits... cycling is fun! There is no finer way of interacting with a landscape that when viewed from a car is little more than a blur. On a bike you become an explorer, the South Pole and the source of the Nile have already been found, but you can still experience the thrill of cresting a hill and discovering a beautiful vista that you have never seen before. On a smaller scale simply stop as you pass through an ancient wood, you may see a slow worm at your feet or notice a falling leaf dislodged by Red Squirrel.
Many of the off-road routes in this book take you on or near farmland so please take care to close any gates and treat animals with care and respect. There is a wonderful network of country lanes and with 165 miles of bridleways and 29 miles of byways you have the option to spend a lot of time on traffic free tracks. Riding on the Island is like reading a good book, once you have opened the pages you’ll be hooked, and you’ll want to read it again and again, always finding something you missed first time around.
